Are you familiar with the fields of biology, chemistry, anatomy, genetics, anthropology etc? Scientists haven't been twiddling their thumbs all these years writing this stuff for ****s and giggles. All the accredited data and facts you could ever want on evolution and the development of this planet and its lifeforms is out there. Education is good for the mind. Pick up a science book. Or better yet, go be involved in science. Learn.

I just don't understand at all why evolution is taken so personally by people. People won't question quantum entanglement, M-Theory, the relativity of time etc., but you say evolution and they **** their pants. Makes no damn sense. M-Theory, quantum entanglement, and space/time are all far more radical ideas and have changed nearly everything we thought we knew about the universe and how it works yet they are ignored and something as relatively straightforward as evolution is cast off in favor of mysticism and magic.

__________________"When the snows fall, when the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."

As far as proof, taxonomic and paleobiology studies have shown it, and as have the sequencing of our genome and that of the chimpanzee. Using the molecular clock (a technique that examines rates of molecular change to deduce the time in geologic history when two species diverged ) shows us how much time it would have taken for two lineages to diverge. Genetic evidence also enhances our understanding of our relation to the Neanderthals, to in fact reconstruct a genetic tree consisting of our species down to the last shared ancestor. A haplogroup (a group of haplotypes (haplotypes are groups of DNA sequences at specific locations on a chromosome that are transmitted together) that share a common ancestor having a certain type of mutation in both haplotypes) is formed every time a certain mutation is passed down from an individual to his/her descendents.

__________________That which is not Body, is no part of the Universe, and because the Universe is All, that which is not Body is Nothing and consequently Nowhere. Thomas Hobbes

You are the world you have created. And when you cease to exist, this world that you have created will also cease to exist. Cormac Mccarthy

Nothing isn't better or worse than anything. Nothing is just nothing. Arya Stark

As far as proof, taxonomic and paleobiology studies have shown it, and as have the sequencing of our genome and that of the chimpanzee. Using the molecular clock (a technique that examines rates of molecular change to deduce the time in geologic history when two species diverged ) shows us how much time it would have taken for two lineages to diverge. Genetic evidence also enhances our understanding of our relation to the Neanderthals, to in fact reconstruct a genetic tree consisting of our species down to the last shared ancestor. A haplogroup (a group of haplotypes (haplotypes are groups of DNA sequences at specific locations on a chromosome that are transmitted together) that share a common ancestor having a certain type of mutation in both haplotypes) is formed every time a certain mutation is passed down from an individual to his/her descendents.

None of this means anything to somebody who is adamant that they didn't come from no monkey. If they didn't bother to seek out and to understand this information before this conversation, they probably never will.

Destructus86 isn't going to suddenly say, "Oh, ****! I forgot about haplotypes! It all makes sense!" He doesn't care.

I just don't understand at all why evolution is taken so personally by people. People won't question quantum entanglement, M-Theory, the relativity of time etc., but you say evolution and they **** their pants. Makes no damn sense. M-Theory, quantum entanglement, and space/time are all far more radical ideas and have changed nearly everything we thought we knew about the universe and how it works yet they are ignored and something as relatively straightforward as evolution is cast off in favor of mysticism and magic.

I accept micro-evolution, but not macro-evolution. The complexity of life, the universe, and everything just strikes me as too fine-tuned to have happened by chance. I mean, I can sit down in a Bio 101 class and my mind is blown by the intricacies of the tiniest little cell. It's amazing.

Plus...the universe is, what? 14.5 billion years old? And the earth only 4.5 billion. And in that 4.5 billion years there have been collisions, meteor bombardments, and who knows what else. I've seen some convincing math stats...the time just isn't there for life to just "appear" and then evolve into the mind-boggling diversity we see today.

So what do you think happened?

__________________The poster formerly known as RachelDawes

Cynicism is not maturity, do not mistake the one for the other. If you truly cannot accept a story where someone does the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, that says far more about who you are than these characters. - Greg Rucka

So you're arguing that there's no difference between the scenarios in terms of the significance of our existence?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thundercrack85

I'd rather be the product of countless processes, over billions of years, than be the plaything of some petty god.

I agree with you, though we're obviously in the minority, at least in this country. I'm just trying to illustrate the mindset behind the resistance to the concept of evolution, not to invalidate your opinion on the matter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thundercrack85

It remains to be seen how inconsequential we are. We may well become gods ourselves one day far, far down the line.

What do you mean when you say "gods?"

It seems to me that the only way we can achieve significance equal to that of the "creation" scenario under the "evolved" scenario is if we are ultimately responsible for ending the universe's existence.

"...If the new evidence holds any weight, then the popular theory that modern humans and Neanderthals co-existed—and possibly even interbred—for millennia has just been shot down,..."

So they say.

Thoughts?

I think its fascinating. I fully accept evolution, but I love when theories are proven wrong or are improved with newly discovered data. It shows that we are on the right course of discovery. I look forward to what other discoveries we will make becuase of this discovery.

__________________"When the snows fall, when the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."

If the universe was created by nothing, what made something out of nothing? Surely, God would have to set it into motion, otherwise how could nothing make something.

Alright, problems with this:
1) Where does God come from?
2) If you say you don't know or need to know, why do you need to know how the universe started?
3) God would have had to come from nothing himself so what makes the universe starting from nothing a stretch but your God coming from nothing a plausible theory in your eyes?

And before I get a response saying "Because the Bible says so", I ask those who would reply with that: if Harry Potter said in the first chapter that it was true, does that make it true too? You could explain the things we don't know by saying magic did it. Makes as much sense as saying God did it.

i think its fascinating. I fully accept evolution, but i love when theories are proven wrong or are improved with newly discovered data. It shows that we are on the right course of discovery. i look forward to what other discoveries we will make becuase of this discovery.